Air conditioners are typically used to adjust the temperature and humidity inside a building. The output from an air conditioner is automatically controlled so as to reach a set temperature and humidity. Many air conditioners are installed inside a building and centrally monitored at a single location.
More power efficient air conditioners are now being demanded. However, in situations such as when a window or door is open, air that has been warmed or cooled by an air conditioner will escape. As a result, the air conditioner will increase output or operate for a longer period of time to reach the set temperature, and thus enter a wasteful operating state that wastefully consumes power, inhibiting power efficiency. For this reason, various proposals are being made in order to promote power efficiency by deterring the wasteful operation of an air conditioner.
For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2006-336901 (hereafter, “PTL 1”) discloses an air conditioner monitoring apparatus that determines the wasteful operation of an air conditioner based on the position of the air conditioner's expansion valve and the duration at this position, and notifies a building supervisor or service technician.